Panic
by LifeEqualsMusic
Summary: Set during the Archangel mission and beyond. Spoilers for ME2. Of all the things she had expected to find in that base, this was definitely the best. F!ShepXGarrus.
1. Chapter 1

**Seriously, I can't stop writing these two. This was supposed to be a oneshot, but it would have been way too long to post.**

* * *

'Archangel?' Shepard's voice was soft, the helmet she rarely wore distorting her voice, and she _was_ trying not to antagonize the large mercenary in front of her. The merc didn't move, save for a hand gesture, one that clearly meant, _give me a second_. He tilted his head and adjusted his rifle just so, and the freelancer hiding below was dead with a twitch of his finger.

'I'm not here to kill you,' she said slowly, though she didn't lower her pistol. Finally, the mercenary pushed himself off the windowsill and glanced toward Shepard's squad. He tapped his helmet meaningfully.

'You want me to take it off? I will if you will.' Archangel nodded, and Shepard pulled her helmet off smoothly. The merc froze, and his rifle hit the floor. His hand trembled as he reached up and ripped his helmet off, dropping it carelessly on the carpet. Shepard gaped at the alien standing in front of her.

'Shepard?' The familiar sub-tones in his voice snapped Shepard back to reality.

'Jacob, Miranda, hold the line,' she ordered swiftly, hardly daring to believe what- or who- was in front of her. Her team nodded and left to guard the stairs. 'Garrus, I-' She didn't get very far before the turian crossed the room in three long strides and crushed her to his chest.

'Spirits, Shep, we thought- I thought you were dead,' he murmured in her ear as one of his hands came up to cradle her head, and subsequently sent her pulse racing.

'I was, I guess,' she said, unable to slow her heart rate. Despite herself, tears welled in her eyes. 'Oh, Garrus, what have you done?' He sighed.

'I had a team. We were slowly taking Omega back from the gangs, but... I was betrayed by one of my own. The bastard killed my entire squad, then disappeared. Now, since I'm on my own, the gangs are finally coming after me.' Shepard lifted her head off his chest and studied his face.

'You know what? I don't even care right now. I was sure you were gone for good, Garrus.' She smiled as the tears in her eyes finally spilled over. He searched her eyes in concern and reached up to brush them away.

'It's good to have you back, Shep,' he rumbled, and smiled his turian smile.

'Hey, Commander, they've retreated for n- uh, sorry,' Jacob topped the stairs, clearly flustered at the the old friends' proximity. Miranda smacked the back of his head.

'You idiot, they haven't seen each other for two years, and he thought she was dead.' She shook her head. 'Sorry, Commander. You two make a cute couple.' At that, the embracing pair recovered their wits and sprang away from each other.

'Oh, we're not-' they began in unison, then stopped and glared at each other, 'you think I'd- would you stop doing that?' they snapped at each other at the same time. Miranda smirked.

'Sure, you're not,' she said coyly, then glanced out the window. 'Oh shit, here come the Eclipse. What are your orders, Commander?' Shepard shot back into her role.

'Garrus,' she stated, and he nodded, positioning himself at the window. 'Miranda, you and Jacob go downstairs and take out anything he misses.' The two of them nodded and headed downstairs, and she joined Garrus, angling and adjusting her rifle.

'Ready?' She asked, though she already knew then answer. His mandibles twitched.

'I'm always ready, Shepard.' She smiled as she lowered her eye to the scope and scanned the bridge. Several Eclipse Heavies were taking cover behind crates on the bridge, while even more troopers were storming across. One by one, the two of them took the Eclipse out with painstakingly placed head shots.

'So, Vakarian,' she muttered, as casually as if they were lounging in the old Normandy, not pinned down in an abandoned building, shooting for their lives, 'Archangel?' Garrus growled, somewhat embarrassed.

'That's just a name the locals started giving me. For all my good deeds.' Shepard grinned as she took down a mech.

'Don't even pretend that you don't love it, Vakarian,' she teased, quickly falling into their old banter again.

'Oh, and what about you, eh? The amazing, talented, beautiful Commander Shepard, who single-handedly saved the Citadel, not to mention the Council. You're telling me you don't bask in that glory?'

'Vakarian, you're the only one who says that,' she laughed, stealing a glance at him, secretly awing over the way he was so much better at handling a rifle than her- hell, they way he beat her out in so many ways.

'Keep telling yourself that, Commander. Maybe one day it'll be true.' Garrus said as he took out the last trooper, then ducked back down behind the windowsill beside her. 'You've saved a lot of lives, Shepard. People take notice of that kind of thing.' He awkwardly scratched the back of his neck. 'Spirits know you've saved mine.' Shepard sighed.

'Save your praise for someone who deserves it, Garrus. I didn't know you were Archangel. I just know that I was sent to collect him for our mission. I'm... I'm working with _Cerberus_ Garrus. All those people they killed, and those twisted experiments, and I'm working with them.' Garrus sighed and leaned his head against the wall behind him as he reached for her hand.

'I know you're doing it for the right reasons, Shep,' he said simply, and she stared.

'You don't know anything about this mission, and you're on my side without question? Even defending my choices? Why?' He squeezed her hand.

'I know you, Shep. You've always been working for the greater good. Two years isn't enough time to change that.' Shepard flashed him a quick smile.

'Thanks, Garrus. When did you get so good with words? Last I remember, you were stumbling over them awkwardly like a baby quarian.' He snorted.

'Are you kidding me? I was just treating you carefully, so you wouldn't realize my ulterior motives.' Shepard stifled a laugh and raised her eyebrow.

'Ulterior motives, huh? And what exactly were those?' The turian flexed his mandibles.

'Oh, you know, plotting to overthrow your command, messing with Alenko...' he glanced at her meaningfully, 'the flirting.' Shepard choked, just as her squad ran up the stairs. Garrus dropped her hand and stood, grabbing his rifle as he went.

'Status,' he barked, and Miranda shot an uneasy glance at Shepard, who nodded.

'We managed to take out their leader after he made it past the bridge, and we haven't seen the Blood Pack yet.'

'Jaroth?' Garrus' voice was strained. 'You killed Jaroth?' He smiled at Miranda's worried expression. 'I've been hunting that little bastard for months. Well done.' Before Miranda could respond, an explosion rocked the base.

'What in the holy hell was that?' Jacob asked through his gritted teeth, and Garrus sighed.

'It's the Blood Pack. They're trying to get in through the basement. There are three shutters that need to be closed, Shepard.'

'Like hell I'm leaving you on your own up here,' she snapped, and Garrus growled, the sub-tones taking over his voice.

'Go, Shepard. You don't have much time.' She rounded on him, her anger taking over.

'If you really think I'm just going to leave you-' Finally, Jacob interrupted.

'I'll stay with him, Commander. Take Miranda down and get those gates closed.' At last, Shepard conceded.

'Fine. But I swear, Garrus, if you die while I'm gone...' Garrus held his hands up.

'I won't die. What is it humans say? _Scout's honor._' She smiled briefly, and then raced down the stairs, daring to take Garrus' words as the truth.


	2. Chapter 2

**This chapter was especially frustrating. It was easy to write, sure, but I kept losing it all. My new laptop doesn't have Word, so I was just writing it in the Doc Manager, and Firefox crashed. Twice. Good thing I had it pretty much memorized at that point. .**

* * *

By the time Shepard's team had closed the first shutter, Garrus was doing well. Jacob was proving himself to be quite adept with a shotgun, taking down mercs left and right, rivaling even Garrus' skill. Truth be told, Garrus was enjoying himself. It had been so long since he'd been in a fight like this, vastly outnumbered and desperate. And then Shepard had shown up, shocking him to hell and back.

He'd almost shot her when she got to him. Hell, if she hadn't been taking down mercs as she ran across the bridge, he would have. But then she'd pulled off her helmet, and she was exactly the same as he remembered her, all soft curves and straight teeth, her hair plastered to her face with sweat, grinning up at him with her easy smile, and so, so _alive_. So, he'd abandoned common sense and invaded her personal space (though she didn't seem to mind much), and breathed her in for as long as he could.

They'd fallen right back into their old way of bickering, and Garrus loved every minute of it.

He'd been loath to let her out of his sight for even a second, and even more reluctant to release her from his grasp, but, as usual, the mission came first. He sure as hell wasn't going to let her down by dying, though, and he'd be damned if she thought she was leaving him in this hellhole once everything was settled.

* * *

By the time the other team had closed the second shutter, Garrus was struggling. His trigger finger ached, and his neck and back muscles we screaming at him, but he kept shooting, taking down the mercs with well placed head shots. He'd be damned if he was going to let himself get killed here, after finally seeing Shepard again.

'You okay, Vakarian?' Jacob's shout brought him back to reality, and he ducked behind the windowsill as a spray of bullets flew past him.

'Sorry,' he called back, 'just a little distracted.' He could almost hear Jacob's smirk.

'It's Shepard, isn't it? I know you both denied it, but I've never seen her like that with anyone. Not even Tali.' Garrus quirked his mandible curiously.

'You met Tali?'

'Yeah, we ran into her on one of our first missions. And yeah, Shepard was happy to see her, and they hugged, but it wasn't the same as when she saw you. She lacked the relief then... The... The joy, I guess.' Garrus opened his mouth to talk, but Jacob cut him off.

'She's never asked us to leave her alone with someone. Not once. And the way you two interact... Well, you must be someone very special, Vakarian.' He grinned. 'Personally, I think you should go for it.' Garrus glanced at his team-mate oddly.

'Go for it?' He asked falteringly, still unused to some human slang.

'Yeah, you know, date her.' Garrus tilted his head.

'I don't see what establishing her date of birth would do.' Jacob laughed and slapped a hand against his face.

'Come on, Vakarian. Romance her, woo her, court her. Hell, _marry_ her if you want.' Finally, Garrus caught on.

'Oh. _Oh_.' He felt his mandibles grow warm, and he turned back to his scope. 'No, it's not like that. We just worked together.' Jacob snorted.

'I don't know, Vakarian. Professional relationships don't usually end up with one of you holding the other so tightly.'

'I'm sorry, the turian you are trying to reach is currently _doing his job_,' Garrus said mechanically, 'please try again later.' Jacob stifled another laugh.

'All right, I'll let it go. For now.'

* * *

By the time the third gate was closed, Garrus was in a bit of a bind.

Garm had breached the base and had somehow managed to get right behind him, waited until he popped a new clip into his rifle, and clubbed him across the side of his head, grabbing his rifle when his grip went slack.

Garrus blinked the stars from his vision and spun around, reaching for his assault rifle as he went, then froze when he saw his own sniper rifle trained on him.

'You can go ahead and kick that toward me, Vakarian.' Garrus hesitated, and Garm let out a warning shot, the bullet sailing through the wall inches from his head. 'Now.' The turian growled in defeat and slid his last weapon toward the krogan.

'I've been waiting a long time for this, Vakarian,' Garm sneered cruelly, slowly backing him into the corner of the room. Despite himself, Garrus smirked.

'For what, exactly, Garm? To shoot an unarmed turian? I'm impressed by your honor, Garm,' he said, his voice low, and laced with venom. The krogan reeled back and smashed his fist into Garrus' face, leaving him gasping and spitting out blood.

'Shut up, turian. Don't talk to me about honor, you genophage-inducing _bastard_.' Garrus couldn't keep the words in.

'Yes, and bribing and bullying your way through spaceports just makes you a model citizen,' he spat sarcastically. He regretted his words a bit when Garm grabbed his shoulders and dragged him down, meeting his knee with the turian's sensitive abdomen. Garrus sank to his knees, barely able to breathe. Garm laughed.

'The all-powerful Vakarian, brought to his knees by one simple krogan. What would your precious Shepard say if she could see you now, I wonder?' He trained Garrus' own beloved sniper rifle at his uncovered eye, but not before quickly turning it and smashing the butt into the side of his head. Blood filled the turian's mouth again, and he spat it at the krogan in front of him.

'She would- _ah _- she would utterly destroy you,' Garrus croaked, glaring at Garm.

'Too bad your little girlfriend's dead then, isn't it? Nobody's here to save you now, Vakarian.' He lowered his head to Garrus' scope, his finger hovering over the trigger dangerously. Garrus sighed.

_Forgive me, Shepard._

'Hey asshole!' The feminine voice carried loudly through the room, followed by three quick shots, all burying themselves in Garm's head plate. 'Get the hell away from my friend.' Garm reeled, stunned from the shots. Garrus didn't waste a second, shooting to his feet and snatching his rifle back from the krogan's slack grip.

'Good try, Garm. Better luck next time,' he hissed before emptying a full clip into the soft fleshy part of the krogan's head. Garm dropped, dead before he hit the floor.

His gun still trained on the lifeless krogan, Garrus scanned the room. Miranda was already beside Jacob, pumping medi-gel into a nasty wound on his leg that he'd gotten when Garm stormed in. His eyes landed on Shepard, who was staring at him, her expression unreadable. She took a few steps toward him, and as she got closer, he could see that her eyes were full of concern.

'Garrus.' It was all she said, his name. Miranda and Jacob shrugged it off, and focused on the human man's wound, but Garrus understood the meaning behind it.

_Are you all right?_

_What happened up here?_

_Once we're back on the Normandy, you're on pot scrubbing duty for a long time, mister._

_I'm so relieved you're safe._

He finally relaxed, letting the tension fall away from his shoulders, and leaned back against the wall.

'Spirits, Shepard. You certainly took your damn time.'

'Oh, you're blaming me? You're the one who sent us down there with no idea where we were going. "Oh yeah, the gates are down there. Somewhere. Just wander around until you find them."' She rolled her eyes. 'Damn turian.'

'Excuse me, but I was just beaten to a pulp, then almost shot. Does that count for_ nothing_ with you anymore?' Shepard rolled her eyes.

'Oh, please. After you pulled that card every other mission on the old Normandy? I don't think so, Vakarian.' Before he could retort, she turned back to her squad.

'We've only got the Blue Suns left. I suggest we fight our way out.' She glanced at Jacob. 'How's the leg, Taylor?' Jacob heaved himself to his feet.

'It's not great, but it'll serve. Let's get the hell out of here.' Miranda nodded.

'I agree. I've had enough of this damn rock to last me a long time.' From his place against the wall, Garrus lifted his hand for silence.

'Wait. Do you hear that?' Shepard nodded.

'Yeah, it sounds a bit like a-' A large gunship dropped into view. 'Damn it.' The three humans dove behind cover, but Garrus wasn't quite fast enough.

Three bullets ripped through his shields, jerking him back violently, and before he had time to recover, the ship fired a rocket directly at him, hitting him square in the shoulder and throwing him to the ground.

'_Garrus!_' He heard Shepard's scream, and he tried to drag himself behind something- anything to get away from the spray of bullets aimed at him. Finally, he made it behind a couch, when his arms gave out, and he collapsed to the floor with a strangled sigh. The last thing he saw was Shepard's determined expression as she shot the damn gunship out of the sky.

* * *

**Poor Garrus! I hated that part in the game! But then he got that bitchin' scar, which sort of made it worth the agony. Anyway, thanks for your reviews, guys! I'll respond to any signed ones!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Two chapters in one day? I must be dying. This is turning out to be a hell of a lot longer than I thought it would be!**

* * *

Tracy Shepard prided herself on staying composed. She'd only lost her head a handful of times. The first was back on Akuze, when her entire team died, leaving her with crippling survivor's guilt. The second was on the Normandy, after she couldn't save all the colonists on Feros. She'd lost it once more, shortly after boarding the new Normandy, cursing herself for getting sucked into Cerberus.

But all those moments paled in comparison when she saw Garrus Vakarian getting blown back by a rocket, his lithe frame crumpling to the ground, a strangled groan ripping out of his throat. Time stood still, Shepard watching in horror as he dragged himself to cover and collapsed.

'Miranda, cover me _now_,' she yelled as she hefted her rocket launcher, leveling it at the glass that housed Tarak. Miranda ran over and, one by one, took out the mercenaries that were gathering by the broken window.

Shepard took a deep breath and fired, the rocket projectile smashing through the glass of the ship and exploding inside the cabin that housed the Blue Suns' leader. Without a pilot, the ship plummeted to the ground, dramatically exploding on contact. Shepard raced blindly over to where Garrus was lying, trusting in her squad mates' ability to keep the last of the mercs off of her. She dropped to her knees beside him, pulling his head into her lap.

'Oh God. Garrus, come on. Oh my God. Please don't do this to me. You promised me. Please.' She felt herself coming undone at the sight of him, broken and bloody, hysteria rising in her throat.

'Mir-Miranda, I need you here right now,' she all but screamed, tears gathering in her eyes, much to her frustration. 'You can help him, right? Slap some medi-gel on it until we can get back to the Normandy?' Miranda hesitated.

'I'll- I'll do what I can, Shepard, but it doesn't look good. I don't know anything about turian physiology. He needs heavy medical attention as soon as possible.' Shepard nodded.

'Okay, we can do that. Jacob, radio Joker, tell him to come get us.' She turned back to the turian, her tears finally overflowing and falling on his face.

'Damn it, Garrus, you big dumb turian, if you die here, I'm going to be so pissed.' She laid a hand on the less bloody side of his face. 'You know what, screw it. If you live through this, you're never on kitchen duty again, I promise.' She stroked the plates on his face, more to calm herself down than anything.

The medi-gel that Miranda had injected was finally coming into effect, and Garrus gasped, his blue eyes snapping open, and immediately focusing on Shepard.

'Shep,' he croaked, 'why is my face wet?' Shepard let out a half sob, half laugh.

'You got beat up by a krogan, Vakarian.' Garrus frowned.

'No, this isn't blood.' His eyes cleared in a moment of understanding. Tracy Shepard, you were crying.' Shepard waved him off.

'You shouldn't talk, Garrus. We're getting you to Dr. Chakwas as we speak. Just rest, okay?' Garrus nodded.

'Yeah, okay. But you're not- _ahh that's going to hurt_- you're not getting off that easy. We're talking about this later.' Shepard smiled.

'Garrus, if you survive this, I'll talk about anything you want.' The turian made a soft sound of contentment before letting his eyes fall shut again. Jacob came up behind her.

'Commander, the shuttle is on its way down. He'll be with the doctor in no time.' Shepard sniffed, and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

'Yeah,' she muttered, 'yeah, he's going to be okay.' Miranda nodded.

'If he was in good enough shape to wake up, he's got a good chance of survival. I think.'

The next few minutes were torture. Miranda was keeping a steady stream of medi-gel running through him, to stop him from bleeding out, Jacob radioed back forth with Joker, explaining the situation in more detail, and Shepard just sat there, her turian's head resting in her lap, monitoring his breathing and stroking the soft warm plates on his face.

Finally, the shuttle rushed into view, hovering just outside the window. The three humans picked up the heavy turian with some difficulty, and moved him into the shuttle, laying him across the seats on a full side of it, though his head still lay in the Commander's lap. As soon as Jacob buckled himself into the seat, he passed out from exhaustion, but Miranda looked up at the Commander, whose eyes were scanning the turian worriedly, making sure he didn't bleed out.

'So, after all this, are you going to stick with the story that he was just a member of your squad?' Her voice was light, focusing on the best possible outcome, instead of the one they were facing as it stood. Shepard sighed and looked up.

'No,' she said, much to the other woman's surprise, 'I'm not.' Miranda cocked her head.

'So, the two of you really are...' Shepard smiled.

'No, we were telling the truth on that one, at least. Here's the thing, Miranda. Back when we were fighting Saren, I took Garrus on nearly every mission with me. At the time, he was the most capable fighter we had.' She paused, remembering those days oddly fondly. 'The change was very subtle. At some point, though, Garrus and I tipped the scales from teammates to real, true friends. I first noticed it when we came back from Feros. The loss of so many colonists was heavy. Heavier than I was expecting. I had many visitors to my cabin that night, everyone trying to comfort me. All except Garrus. He knew that I needed time, but it just wasn't something I could get back then.

'So, once I thought everyone was asleep, I sneaked down to the training room to lay into a few punching bags. You know, typical dealing with grief stuff.' Miranda tittered.

'Of course.'

'What I wasn't expecting was Garrus, waiting down there for me with my gloves, sans armor.'

'Ooh, how risqué,' the biotic purred, and Shepard shot her a look.

'Like I said, we weren't like that. We'd sparred before, but he'd always been in full armor, as usual, which always seemed like cheating, to me. Either way, he tossed me the gloves, and we started. Except it was different this time, and not because of the lack of armor. Usually, we rarely landed a hit, but that night, he dropped his guard and let me pummel him down. It took ten minutes for me to exhaust myself.' Miranda frowned.

'Ten minutes? That's... That's not good Shepard.' The Spectre grimaced.

'What can I say? I hadn't slept in two days, skipped out on eating, and used all my energy in one big blast. Miranda, I can count on one hand the number of times I've lost my cool in my adult life. That night was one of them. I knocked him down with one last good punch, then curled up on the mats, shaking. And what did the damn turian do? He drops his gloves, pulls me up onto his lap, and holds me until, well, I don't know how much later. We didn't say one word to each other that whole time. So yeah, we're not just squad mates.' Miranda gaped.

'Why tell me all of this? You barely know me.' Shepard shrugged.

'You asked.' Miranda let out a low whistle.

'You're one-of-a-kind, you know that? So, back on Omega, when the Eclipse were storming, and you were giving orders... All you said to him was "Garrus," but he knew exactly what you wanted him to do. Is that just from fighting alongside him for so long?' Shepard smiled, running her hand over Garrus' mandible.

'No. It's been like that from the very beginning.' Miranda shook her head and laughed.

'So you're telling me that you two have had this unspoken connection since you first _met_, and you're not in love with him? Come on, Shepard, you've got it bad.' Shepard sputtered.

'No, we're close, but not- we've never-' Miranda grinned.

'Sure, Shepard, whatever you say.' The Commander's face grew hot, and she focused on the delicate blue lines running across the bridge of Garrus' nose.

'Oh, go to hell,' she muttered, while, unknown to either of the women, Garrus Vakarian listened in.


	4. Chapter 4

**I'm thinking this might just go all the way to the end... Whatever that is.**

* * *

Shepard disconnected her call from the Illusive Man with a groan. It had been three hours since they'd gotten back to the Normandy, and Chakwas was still keeping Garrus hidden. She turned around to see Jacob leaning against the wall.

'Is he...?' The words went unspoken, but the meaning was obvious.

'He's out of the woods. You can go see him now.' Shepard fought to keep her face neutral and strode forward, but Jacob stopped her gently. 'You- you should know, Commander... We had to use a lot of cybernetics to keep him alive. He'll have full functionality, but there's some serious scarring.' Shepard swallowed.

'Thanks, Taylor, I-' She broke off as Garrus limped into the room. She couldn't keep her eyes off the angry raw patches on his mandible, or the way his armor was charred and broken. The corner of her mouth twitched. Of course he'd still be in it. Stubborn turian. Jacob whistled.

'I didn't think he'd be up yet, the tough son of a bitch.' It was then that he noticed neither of them were listening to him, and he shrugged.

'Well, uh, I've got a lot of work to do, so...' He let his sentence trail off as he slunk out of the room.

'How bad is it, Shepard?' Garrus asked wryly. 'Nobody would give me a mirror.' Shepard smiled.

'Hell, Garrus, you've always been ugly. Slap some face paint on, and nobody will even notice,' she teased, and he laughed.

'Hah- _oh_- don't make me laugh, damn it. My face is barely holding together as it is.' He paused. 'You know, some women find scars attractive,' he purred, shooting a sideways glance at Shepard, 'mind you, most of those women are krogan.' Shepard shook her head and laughed.

'Don't worry about it, Vakarian. I'm sure you'll find someone just as mangled as you are.' His mandible twitched as he moved closer.

'You're really reassuring, you know that, Shepard?' His tone was dripping with sarcasm. Shepard quirked an eyebrow.

'I try my best. If you ask me, they just make you look like more of a hard-ass.' She couldn't keep the shiver out of her voice at the thought, and frowned at herself. Garrus, not one to let anything slip past him, folded his long arms over his chest.

'You all right, Shepard? As humans say, you seem a little hot and bothered.' Shepard scoffed.

'In your dreams, Vakarian. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to make my rounds.' She walked past the turian as calmly as she could manage, only to find her path blocked by a suddenly unfolded arm.

'Not so fast, Shepard. I believe we have some things to talk about, remember?' Normally, Shepard would have argued with him until he relented (which took a lot of work), but this time, she just smiled wearily.

'It won't take long, Garrus.' Meet me in my quarters in half an hour, and we can talk then.' The turian nodded reluctantly, and dropped his arm.

'If you're not up there when you say, I can't be held responsible for property damage,' he said dryly, and the Commander shook her head.

'If you touch my space hamster, Vakarian, I promise I can add to your scars.' She left without another word, disappearing around the corner, but not before she heard a bemused 'space hamster?' from the loyal turian.

* * *

True to her word, Shepard stepped into her quarters exactly thirty minutes later. A quick look around revealed the former C-Sec officer stretched out on the end of her bed, fast asleep. She smiled to herself and sat down at her desk, directing her attention to her personal terminal. She checked her inbox and sighed at the unread messages that had piled up. Mostly from the Illusive Man, she rifled through them quickly until one caught her eye.

'Nalah Butler?' The name was unfamiliar to her, and curiosity took over. She opened the messaged and skimmed through it. 'Husband on Garrus' team... Died in a trap? Blames himself? Oh, Garrus,' she muttered sadly. Quickly composing a reply, Shepard sent it off.

_Nalah,_

_Thank you for telling me this. Garrus is one of my most trusted allies. I will do my best to keep him out of guilt. I'm truly sorry for your loss, and I will make sure your husband is honored properly._

_Commander Tracy Shepard, Special Tactics and Reconnaissance_

She leaned back with a sigh, raking her fingers through her long brown hair.

'What am I going to do with him, Jenkins?' she asked absently to the small hamster on her shelf, and picked him up, letting him crawl up her arm and burrow into the place where her shoulder met her neck, where he promptly fell asleep. She stroked his soft fur gently, her eyes settling on the sleeping turian.

She placed Jenkins gently back in his enclosure and tiptoed over to where Garrus was situated, his long legs draped over the end of the bed, his visor still in place, as always. She lowered herself to the steps, smiling to herself. It was nice to see him catching some sleep. His face lost the sharp edges brought on by stress, and couldn't stop herself from thinking that he looked damn adorable while he slept.

Slowly, Garrus stretched, his eyes opening and searching the room in confusion. They settled on Shepard and panic raced through them. He sat up in a rush, fumbling for words.

'Shepard, I was just- I wasn't- you were late- no, was I early?' Shepard grinned.

'Relax, Garrus. It's good to see you get some sleep.' The turian grimaced.

'I could have chosen a better place than my commanding officer's bed, I think.' Shepard shook her head.

'Garrus, I couldn't care less where you sleep, as long as it's not in a turian-sized coffin.' His brow raised.

'Good to know,' he drawled, 'maybe I'll have to make a habit of this, then.' He remembered why he was there, and grinned painfully.

'You thought I was dead for sure,' he said plainly, enjoying the blush that crept up her neck.

'Yeah, okay, Vakarian. I just didn't want to get your weird alien blood all over my armor,' she excused, but Garrus wasn't having it.

'No way, Shepard. You thought I was gone for good this time.' Defeated, Shepard raked her hand across her scalp again.

'Yeah, Garrus, I did.' She stood from her place on the stairs and sat next to him on the bed, studying her hands intently.

'Come on, Shep,' Garrus said gently, 'it'll take more than a rocket to the face to put me down, you know that.'

'I know, you big stubborn turian. I- you should know that I sort of- uh- I sort of lost my head back there.' He smiled.

'The great Commander Shepard, breaking down over me? I should be honored, I-' He stopped in the middle of his sentence, the aftermath of the battle coming back to him. 'You were crying,' he stated. Shepard shifted uncomfortably.

'I- you were delirious, you didn't know what was going on.' Garrus narrowed his eyes.

'No, this much I remember. You were crying for me, Shep. Why?' Shepard let out a bark of mirthless laughter.

'Why? Garrus, how could you even ask that? Didn't you ever wonder why I took you with me on every damn mission back then?' Garrus shrugged.

'I was the most capable fighter you had back then. It only makes sense.' Shepard turned to him and cocked her head.

'You know, for someone who's so aware of his surroundings at all times, you can be a big fat idiot, you know that?' Garrus raised his brows in surprise, but Shepard kept talking. 'You remember when we first fought together, for that doctor?'

'Dr. Michel, of course I-' Shepard interrupted him.

'I knew what you were going to do before you did it. I've worked with a lot of agents, Garrus, that kind of connection isn't something that's built up over time. It just happens.'

'So, what are saying?' Garrus asked carefully, 'are we some sort of fight-oriented soul mates then?' Shepard chuckled.

'Sure, Garrus, let's go with that.' She bumped his shoulder lightly with hers. 'You're stuck with me now.' Garrus slung his arm casually around her.

'I wouldn't have it any other way, Shep.'

* * *

**I know, kind of a filler chapter, but I can't exactly follow through too much until I actually know what happens in the game.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hooray, a new chapter!**

* * *

Garrus woke with a start, the strange smell of Earth oranges overwhelming his senses. Something soft was wrapped in his arms, warm against his unarmored chest. His heart rate spiked. _Shepard_. The soft thing was Shepard, and he'd spent the entire night cycle in her cabin. _On her bed_. He groaned, then panicked, biting his tongue with this sharp teeth.

He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. He couldn't slide his arms out without catching them on her soft skin, but maybe if he just rolled her over- no, not that way, she'd be pinned under him. Perhaps if her just- damn, that wouldn't work either. Garrus growled in frustration, freezing when he felt his sub-tones rumbling through his body, and he knew he'd woken her up.

She lifted her head groggily, squinting at the turian who was holding her closely.

'Garrus?' Her voice was scratchy from hours of disuse, and Garrus would be lying if he said it wasn't a little charming.

'Uh, Shepard. I was- I was just-' Shepard smiled.

'It's okay, Garrus. You don't have to panic every time you do something you think you did something wrong, because usually, Vakarian, you haven't.' She reached up and tapped his nose. 'Now, let's sneak you back down to the battery before people get suspicious.' Garrus smiled wryly, fighting back a wince when it pulled on his still painful mandible.

'What's wrong, Shepard? Don't want the crew to think you're attracted to a turian?' He'd asked sarcastically, but for some reason, he found himself dreading her answer. To his relief, she laughed it off.

'Don't play dumb with me, Vakarian. You had half the female crew wrapped around your finger on the old Normandy with your brooding looks and sexy voice.' Garrus flexed his mandibles.

'That... _may_ have been true, back then,' he said slowly, ignoring Shepard's enormous grin. He released her from his hold and sat up. 'I don't think I'll have as warm of a welcome on a humanity-first vessel, though.' Shepard frowned, propping herself up on her elbows and shooting him a meaningful look.

'If anyone gives you trouble, Garrus...' The tall alien smiled painfully back at her.

'I'll be fine, Shepard. I helped take down Saren. I think I can handle a few sour looks.' Shepard hesitated.

'Just... Be nice, all right? Don't get into any fights.' Garrus sighed and stood up.

'You never let me have any fun.'

'Okay, listen,' Shepard proposed, 'once you recover enough for Chakwas to give you the green light, we'll go down to the range and you can thoroughly kick my ass in a sniping contest, all right?' He turned back to face her, and leaned over the bed, his mouth right beside her ear.

'Oh, I'm counting on it,' he muttered smugly, noting with pleasure the shiver that ran through her. As he strode out to the elevator, his sensitive ears picked up her grumblings and he grinned.

'Bloody turian.'

* * *

Garrus stepped inside the elevator and hit the button that would take him down to the battery, sighing as he leaned back against the wall. Perfect. Just perfect. He'd been back on the Normandy for less than twenty-four hours, and he'd already shattered his professional record.

The elevator doors hissed open, and he stepped into the mess hall. Forty pairs of eyes swiveled around to stare at him, and most of them were suspicious. He smiled nervously.

'Uh, hello. I'm Garrus Vakarian, and I'm here to-'

'Bone the Commander?' A soldier shouted from across the room, and a few of the crew laughed. 'Yeah, we know who you are, turian.' Garrus narrowed his eyes, and strode across the hall, stopping only when his face was inches from the soldier's, rendering the entire room completely silent.

'On your feet,' he growled. The soldier hesitated, his eyes flicking around nervously, then slowly stood up, glaring at the turian that towered over him.

'Yeah, what do you want?'

'Name and rank, soldier.' The human rolled his eyes.

'Desmond Fowler, sub-lieutenant.'

'Well, Desmond Fowler, if you know me so well, I take it you know how the Commander and I became allies?'

'Yeah, yeah, everyone does. You were in the squad that took down that rogue turian.' Garrus' smile was full of malice.

'You bet your ass I was. Why am I here now?'

'Hell if I know. I bet you're going to tell me though.'

'Oh, Fowler, you're sharp as a tack. You've heard of Archangel, I presume?' Fowler nodded, and Garrus leaned in. 'That tough son of a bitch who managed to piss off every merc gang on Omega?' He grinned, showing all of his razor sharp teeth. 'You're looking at him.' Fowler's face drained of all color.

'I didn't-' Garrus pushed him aside with his shoulder as he strode to the main battery, then stopped and glanced back.

'No. You didn't. Next time you're about to insult one of your superiors, make sure they're not a foot and a half taller than you and ready to rip your throat out. Idiot.' Without another word, he strode through the doors to the battery, letting them snap shut behind him.

'EDI,' he barked, 'show me the main guns before I kill someone.' The AI's blue orb popped up beside him.

'Certainly, Officer Vakarian, here are the schematics.' EDI paused. 'Your heart rate and breathing levels are elevated. I suggest medical attention.' Garrus growled.

'I suggest you get back to the cockpit before I take apart your core,' he spat.

'I am present in every area of the ship, Officer. I cannot return to a place I am already occupying.' Garrus sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

'I don't care, EDI, just leave me alone.'

Understood, Officer.'

'And stop calling me Officer,' he snapped, 'I don't work for C-Sec anymore.'

'I am aware of that. However, Commander Shepard has named you Gunnery Officer for the Normandy.' Garrus' hands froze over the schematics.

'She- she did _what?_'

'Commander Shepard has named you-'

'Yes, EDI, I heard you the first time,' Garrus interrupted, 'I want to know _why_.'

'I do not have that information.' EDI stated, somehow more blandly than usual.

'Well, aren't you just so helpful,' Garrus said sarcastically, his tone leaving EDI blinking.

'My analysis of your statement suggests that you are being sarcastic, Officer Vakarian,' she said after a few seconds.

'Your programming is a touch irritating, EDI.'

'Mr. Moreau has relayed that sentiment as well. Perhaps you should speak to him.'

'Yeah, perhaps I should,' he snapped, 'and perhaps you should go away before I unplug you,' he added under his breath.

'I cannot be unplugged, Officer Vakarian. I am wired directly into the ship. However, if it is your wish to be left alone, I do have a mute function.' Garrus rounded on the AI.

'Are you serious? You waited until _now_ to tell me that?'

'That information did not seem pertinent to our conversation at the time.' Garrus swiped a hand over the unmarred side of his face.

'Damn robots.' He muttered. If EDI could sound offended, she surely would have.

'I am not a robot, Officer Vakarian. I am a fully functioning artificial intelligence, capable of independent thought.' The turian sighed.  
'You could also just _stop talking_.'

'Very well, Officer.' EDI's blue orb disappeared, and Garrus was alone with his thoughts at last. It was not ideal. He knew he'd stepped over the line with Shepard, even if she disagreed, his face ached, even with the medi-gel still in his system, and his first meeting with the crew could have gone much better. Well, at least they were afraid of him. And, he supposed, at least he hadn't hit any of them.

'So, Vakarian,' a familiar female voice said from the crates in the corner, 'I hear you've been threatening my crew. Thoughts?' Garrus shrugged as she picked up a wrench, watching her turn it over and over in her hands.

'If they don't want to be polite, neither do I.' Shepard laughed.

'You've never exactly been diplomatic, Garrus, but try to lay off the death threats, okay? They have to be able to do their job without looking behind them every ten seconds, checking for a murderous turian.' Shepard had a strange way of keeping the peace between her crew. Her voice was never raised, but the message was clear: cut that shit out before I have to knock some sense into you.

'No promises, Shepard. Some of them are just begging to be punched.' Shepard's mouth twitched up, and it was obvious she was biting back laughter.

'You don't think I know that? Hell, I almost slammed Fowler into a wall when he came whimpering.' She shook her head. '"Commander, that big turian threatened me. I demand he be demoted!" What a moron.' Garrus stared in disbelief.

'Fowler _tattled_ on me? He's such a child.' He smirked. 'Just to be clear, I'm not getting demoted, am I? Gunnery Officer isn't exactly a small responsibility.' Shepard winced and looked away.

'About that... I _was_ going to tell you, Garrus. I couldn't think of anyone more suited to calibrating big-ass guns than you. But then you were sleeping, and it was just so damn cute, I couldn't wake-'

'Cute, huh? Not the word I'd use to describe a scarred-to-hell turian.' Shepard laughed.

'Well, I've always had odd tastes.'

'Did you hear that from Miranda? She seems quite certain that we were... together, at some point,' he teased, noting the tinge of red on her face.

'Miranda know nothing happened between us, don't worry. Your reputation as the Normandy's resident hard-ass will remain unsullied.' Garrus tilted his head and smiled.

'Yes, you sounded very convincing on the shuttle.' Shepard's hands stilled and she set the wrench back on the crates.

'I didn't know you were conscious then. How much did you hear, exactly?' The turian's smile broadened.

'_All_ of it.' Shepard groaned buried her face in her hands.

'Listen, Garrus. Miranda... She knows how to push my buttons- how to get me to say what she wants. You and I... We're friends. Of course we are. But do you really see it going any further than that? It just seems a little far fetched to me.' She hugged her arms to her chest awkwardly and Garus scratched the back of his neck.

'Oh, uh, yeah, you're right. It's probably for the best. We can't afford distractions on the field. It makes sense.' Shepard's mouth quirked up.

'Thanks, Garrus. It's good to have a friend on board again,' she said as she stood up. 'I should get back to the CIC, I guess. It was nice talking to you.' And just like that, the Shepard he knew was gone, replaced by _the Commander_.

'Yeah, I'll see you later, Commander,' he said softly, turning back to the schematics EDI had left for him. And maybe if he'd looked at her a little longer, maybe he would have noticed the hurt look on her face before she let the doors slide shut behind her.

* * *

**:( Can't I just put them together NOW? Stupid angst...**


End file.
